(a)The Legislature finds and declares that Santa Monica Bay is a public trust for present and future generations of Californians, and an invaluable element in the ecosystem of southern California.
(b) The biological health and recreational resources of Santa Monica Bay are threatened by the historical accumulation of DDT, PCBs and other toxic pollutants, pathogens, nutrients, stormwater and urban runoff, nonpoint pollutant sources, oil spills, and industrial discharges, increasing with population pressures in the region.
(c) Santa Monica Bay’s Palos Verdes Shelf has been identified as a federal Superfund site, and designated under the United States Environmental Protection Agency’s National Estuary Program. Since 1988, the United States Environmental Protection Agency has designated the former Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project as an agency to plan for the Santa Monica Bay’s restoration, and to oversee implementation of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Plan. The State of California has expended millions of dollars for the administration of the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project, and the Safe Neighborhood Parks, Clean Water, Clean Air, and Coastal Protection Bond Act of 2000 (the Villaraigosa-Keeley Act; Chapter 1.692 (commencing with Section 5096.300) of Division 5 of the Public Resources Code) earmarks up to twenty-five million dollars ($25,000,000) for Santa Monica Bay restoration projects, as identified by the former Santa Monica Bay Restoration Project.
(d) It is the intent of the Legislature that the Santa Monica Bay Restoration Commission be a nonregulatory, locally based state government entity that will monitor, assess, coordinate, and advise all state programs, and oversee funding that affects the beneficial uses, restoration, and enhancement of Santa Monica Bay and its watershed.
(Amended by Stats. 2002, Ch. 598, Sec. 1. Effective January 1, 2003.)